Why does chiropractic work so well?
There are two aspects to chiropractic care: Aligning the body to promote healing and maintaining alignment for proper function.
Initially, most patients will present with a specific complaint such as back or neck pain. The discomfort typically comes from the soft tissue structures such as muscles, tendons or ligaments that attach to the bones. When bones are displaced even slightly, some of the soft tissue works overtime and other structures don’t work as hard. This imbalance is often what is causing the actual pain. Similarly, nerves may also be affected by the malposition of the bone (and its accompanying inflammation) and may send pain and tingling along their pathways. A chiropractic adjustment brings the bones back into proper position so that the overworked or underworked soft tissue can heal in a balanced way. This is the “common sense” approach to chiropractic care: if you line it up, it works better.
But there’s more: These bones, often vertebrae of the spine, are in very close proximity to the spinal nerves. The brain communicates with the entire body through the spinal cord and the branching spinal nerves. The vertebra, when out of position, can cause pressure on the spinal nerve which interferes with the function of that nerve. This is a vertebral subluxation. When the spine is adjusted, the pressure is removed and the nerve is able to carry its impulses. This scenario applies to functional complaints such as indigestion or acid reflux, headaches, constipation, breathing difficulties like asthma, sinus congestion and countless others. If you ever meet someone who is an absolute zealot for chiropractic care, it is often because he or she experienced relief from a complaint they thought they would have to live with forever. Enough said.